Chapter 299:

Chapter 299:

‘Oelo doesn’t know.’

He didn’t know everything. What Satan didn’t know, Oelo knew, and what Oelo didn’t know, Satan knew.

In the end, they had different pieces of knowledge.

And Oelo told Yu-hyun everything he knew.

He wasn’t being kind, but because Yu-hyun was the only one who could fulfill his wish.

That also meant he was desperate.

He had the qualification to collect the primordial books, and he could also summon the hidden traitor through them.

What Oelo did was a trade and a kind of investment in Yu-hyun.

‘I’m just a mere company employee, and I’m getting such a big investment.’

Oelo himself might not think of it as an investment, but Yu-hyun thought it was better to simplify their relationship like this.

“Alright, Mr. Oelo. I understand what you want. I’ve already decided to keep collecting the fragments anyway. It’s a good thing if we have the same goal.”

“Of course, I won’t say it in vain. It’s true that I told you the information you wanted, but what I want is not just information.”

“That’s right.”

Yu-hyun wasn’t Oelo’s subordinate who followed his orders, nor was he a contractor who did his bidding.

Oelo said it himself that it was a deal between individuals.

Compared to what Yu-hyun had to do in the future, the information that Oelo gave him was useful but not a fair price.

Oelo knew that too and nodded.

“I don’t expect you to do everything I tell you just because I told you. Well, your president and other guys might be good at exploiting others, but I still have some conscience and morality left.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“So the information I gave you is just information, and if you do me a favor, I’m willing to pay you a fair price.”

“What do you mean by price?”

“Hmm. That’s hard to say. The value of the price depends on how the receiver thinks of it. Do you think giving points to a teller like you who leads a large library and receives huge donations would be a proper price?”

Yu-hyun didn’t bother to deny that.

Points were overflowing for him now.

The more the better, but points were not enough for Yu-hyun who had already become strong enough to move on to the next stage.

“I’m collecting fragments, but that’s limited to Earth. I know there are fragments in other worlds too, but I don’t know how to get them.”

“There won’t be many anyway. Most of the fragments were concentrated on Earth. That world is special like that.”

“Now that you mention it, you said Earth was a bit special. Why is that?”

Oelo had nothing to hide and answered right away.

“It’s because Earth is the huamaek.”

“Huamaek?”

“The place where all the stories flow together, where the flows overlap and create a kind of singularity. Earth is such a place. The ones with low vision don’t know that, but I can tell at my level. No, you don’t even have to be at my level. If you’re in your company, even a manager with some vision would know.”

Yu-hyun was unfamiliar with the word huamaek and heard it for the first time, but he could understand what it meant.

Huamaek was a special space created by overlapping stories.

“The reason why the Divine Spirits were so interested in Earth, why they gave their various seeds of stories to Earth and sprouted myths...”

“It’s all because of the potential of huamaek that Earth has. Yeah. If I have to compare it to your world, maybe it’s like the core area above the yolk in a capital city among countless lands. Earth has that qualification.”

“...”

Yu-hyun understood why Earth had gone through such an ordeal in his previous life.

Exodus had figured out that Earth was huamaek and how valuable it was before Celestial Corporation did.

That’s why they teamed up with Pentagram Department and started their underground work.

Celestial Corporation thought that their value of Earth was great at first.

They thought they could extract more stories from it since the Divine Spirits had invested so much in it.

Exodus used Pentagram Department to blur Celestial Corporation’s judgment.

No matter how much huamaek flowed in the world, if the creatures inside it settled for reality and did nothing, the story would not progress.

A beautiful story eventually becomes boring and repetitive, and loses its value.

That was what led to the end of the world.

“What does Exodus want?”

“They want the world’s tragedy. Lotfiout, Damcheon, Catharsis. The three of them have different genres of stories that they collect. Lotfiout doesn’t care about the classification of stories as long as they have value, but Damcheon and Catharsis are different.”

Damcheon wants a cheerful and pleasant story, and Catharsis wants a dark and despairing story.

Their competition didn’t stop at just picking up what was there.

“After the Codex was torn apart, they went to the point of trying to create stories. At least Lotfiout was stubbornly pushing his role, but Damcheon and Catharsis weren’t.”

They wanted the stories of their favorite genres to dominate the world.

Exodus ruled the earth made of fire veins, and scattered all kinds of despair.

That was why.

If the passages where various stories come and go are contaminated by the ink of despair, then all the stories around it will also be dyed by it.

“That’s horrible.”

What Oelo wanted was to find and kill the first traitor, Praytion.

The fragments were nothing but bait to lure him out, not Oelo’s real goal.

“What I want is revenge. Revenge on the one who betrayed my father’s expectations, who betrayed us, his brothers. That’s all I want. That’s why I wandered around the world. Well, even then, I couldn’t find any trace of him.”

“But if the fragments start to gather, he will have no choice but to show himself eventually.”

“That’s right.”

Oelo grinned and asked Yu-hyun.

“So, will you do it? Well, to be honest, it would be a shame for me if you refused my offer. Even if you reject me and collect the fragments on your own to summon Praytion, I will keep an eye on you and wait for him to appear.”

“Don’t I have no choice?”

“You do have a choice. You can either accept my terms and get rewarded, or just refuse and get nothing.”

“That’s almost blackmail.”

Yu-hyun chuckled and Oelo didn’t deny it.

“Business should always be done cleanly.”

“That’s true. And for me, it’s something I have to do anyway, so there’s no need to refuse and lose the reward.”

“It’s almost like I’m giving it away. You know that?”

“But, just giving me stories or points is not enough.”

Yu-hyun crossed his legs and snapped his fingers.

Oelo was about to say something about his arrogant attitude, but when he met Yu-hyun’s serious eyes, he realized that he wasn’t just bluffing.

“What do you want?”

“Your reputation may not be as great as your other three brothers’, but your name still has some value, right?”

“It’s a bit awkward for me to say it myself, but yes. It’s true. Even though I look like this, I’m one of the original Tellers.”

“So I want to borrow your name value.”

He had the upper hand anyway.

Yu-hyun was the only one who could do what Oelo wanted, and Oelo was willing to give him whatever he wanted in return for his revenge.

Yu-hyun knew that Oelo had something valuable, and he planned to take as much as he could from him.

The most versatile thing he could use was

the reputation he had as the Primordial Teller.

“What are you going to do with that? Get a loan or something?”

“I’d rather take points from you than get a loan.”

“You don’t even bother to ask anymore.”

“Anyway, it’s not a loan. I just want to secure my position a little more.”

“You...”

Oelo sensed that Yu-hyun was up to something.

There was no reason for a senior Teller, and a possible future manager, to worry about his position.

Oelo, who had always been playful and smiling, frowned and openly doubted Yu-hyun.

“You’re trying to use me for your office politics. Do you want to be the president of Lotfiout, or Celestial Inc.?”

Yu-hyun just smiled and didn’t deny or confirm his words.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I could force you to submit right here and now.”

“But you won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Those who seek revenge usually do.”

“...You’re a cheeky one.”

“It feels strange to hear that from you, Oelo.”

Oelo, who looked like an innocent boy, raised his hands.

It was a sign of surrender.

He had already played all the cards he had at this point.

But the other side still had some hidden cards.

“I’m only after revenge, not some complicated deal or negotiation. If we keep fighting like this, we’ll only waste more energy. I don’t want that.”

“That’s why I can make this offer.”

“You’re such a cunning snake. I’m not a businessman like Lotfiout. Do you enjoy eating this old man alive?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“So, are you going to tell me what you’re up to?”

“A little...”

Yu-hyun smirked and decided to give him a small clue.

“I need to clean up the headquarters.”